Question

excerpt from moby - dick
by herman melville
chapter 41 - \moby dick\
the rest of his body was so streaked, and spotted, and marbled with the same shrouded hue, that, in the end, he had gained his distinctive appellation of the white whale; a name, indeed, literally justified by his vivid aspect, when seen gliding at high noon through a dark blue sea, leaving a milky - way wake of creamy foam, all spangled with golden gleamings.
nor was it his unwonted magnitude, nor his remarkable hue, nor yet his deformed lower jaw, that so much invested the whale with natural terror, as that unexampled, intelligent malignity which, according to specific accounts, he had over and over again evinced in his assaults. more than all, his treacherous retreats struck more of dismay than perhaps aught else. for, when swimming before his exulting pursuers, with every apparent symptom of alarm, he had several times been known to turn round suddenly, and, bearing down upon them, either stave their boats to splinters, or drive them back in consternation to their ship.
already several fatalities had attended his chase. but though similar disasters, however little bruited ashore, were by no means unusual in the fishery; yet, in most instances, such seemed the white whales infernal aforethought of ferocity, that every dismembering or death that he caused, was not wholly regarded as having been inflicted by an unintelligent agent.
judge, then, to what pitches of inflamed, distracted fury the minds of his more desperate hunters were impelled, when amid the chips of chewed boats, and the
read this excerpt from chapter 41 of moby - dick using comprehension strategies.
if such a furious trope may stand, his special lunacy stormed his general sanity, and carried it, and turned all its concentred cannon upon its own mad mark; so that far from having lost his strength, ahab, to that one end, did now possess a thousand fold more potency than ever he had sanely brought to bear upon any one reasonable object.
what is the meaning of this excerpt?
though ahab is physically weakened, his will for revenge has strengthened him.
ahab has always been physically strong, but his desire for revenge has weakened him.
though ahab has lost his ability to seek revenge, he still harbors anger and resentment.
ahabs anger has increased his physical strength, and he is ready to fire his cannon.

Explanation:

The text describes Ahab's state. The key part is “far from having lost his strength, Ahab, to that one end, did now possess a thousand fold more potency than ever he had sanely brought to bear upon any one reasonable object”. This indicates that despite any physical changes (implied by the context of the story's themes around obsession), his will for revenge (the “one end” - revenge on Moby Dick) has strengthened him. The other options are incorrect. The second option says his desire for revenge weakened him which contradicts the text. The third option says he lost ability to seek revenge which is wrong as the text shows his strengthened resolve. The fourth option misinterprets “concentred cannon” as literal physical strength (the “cannon” is a metaphor for his focused determination, not actual physical cannon - like strength increase).

Answer:

Though Ahab is physically weakened, his will for revenge has strengthened him.